Education

In Finland, the fields of education of women and men are rather heavily segregated. On the other hand, there are also differences between women and men in the level of attained qualifications or degrees.

Educational structure of the population

The educational level of the population has risen in the past few decades mainly as a result of women educating themselves. Today, there are slightly more women with tertiary level education than men. Men have completed doctorate level education more often than women but, on the other hand, a larger share of men than women have no post-comprehensive level qualification.

Segregation of fields of education by gender

Despite the rise in the level of education of women, the fields of education have remained strongly segregated by gender. The segregation is clearly visible both in completed qualifications and degrees and in the student distribution of upper secondary level education and university education today.

Qualifications and degrees completed by women and men

A majority of degrees or qualifications in the field of technology have been completed by men, while women have completed the majority of degrees or qualifications in the fields of health and welfare, and education.

Women and men as students

A similar gender segregation is visible in the student distribution. In the fields of technology, transport and ICT, a clear majority of students are men, while the majority of students in the fields of health and welfare, and education and humanities are women.